ILLEGAL immigrants and failed asylum seekers are to be barred from using taxpayers’ money to support their battle to stay in the UK.

An illegal migrant is sprayed with tear gas while trying to escape French police

Foreigners making claims of mistreatment against British troops will also be banned from claiming legal aid under new Government plans.

A new “residence test” will see taxpayerfunded civil legal aid restricted to people who have been lawfully resident in the UK for at least 12 months at the time they apply.

A Government source said: “It is unacceptable that our troops who go abroad to protect British people are pursued through British courts with British taxpayers’ money by people who don’t even live in Britain.

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Illegal immigrants and failed asylum seekers will be barred from using taxpayers' money

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“Nor is it right that illegal immigrants who have exhausted all avenues to remain in the UK should be able to draw upon public funds to prolong their stay in the country.

The residence test will help to restore public faith in civil legal aid

A Government source

“The residence test will help to restore public faith in civil legal aid, assuring people it is being used in the right way and for those it is truly supposed to support.”

Legal aid data is not broken down to denote precisely which payments have been made to illegal immigrants or foreign claimants but it has been revealed that £6million has been paid out to large legal firms representing such clients since 2010.

It was reported earlier this month that British taxpayers are paying more than £650,000 a week in legal aid to asylum seekers and the figures are growing in the wake of the migrant crisis, which has overwhelmed border controls across the EU.

Ministry of Justice figures show that in the last financial year 34,768 cases were approved for free legal advice at a cost of £30million.

The migrants crisis was highlighted in the last quarter of that financial year (January to March 2015) when £8.4million was spent on nearly 10,000 cases.

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Ministry of Justice figures show 34,768 cases were approved for free legal advice

This worked out at £650,000 a week for those peak three months, the highest quarterly figure for two years.

Each case costs £900 on average, paying for lawyers to help asylum seekers seek permission to stay or fight refusal of asylum.

Meanwhile, the Government has faced demands from military chiefs to cut back on legal aid for foreigners.

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Foreigners making claims of mistreatment against British troops will be banned from legal aid

Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander in Afghanistan, said: “We must deny legal aid to foreign citizens making claims against our troops. This is the major factor that encourages so many of these cases.”

Legal firms Public Interest Lawyers and Leigh Day, which both receive legal aid, have tried to launch more than 2,000 claims alleging criminality by the Armed Forces.